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Experience Clean Eating at Your Local Farmer’s Market

When buying fresh produce from your local farmer’s market, the difference in the quality & freshness of the fruits & vegetables is significantly noticable, and you’re supporting the local farms of your area at the same time. The San Luis Obispo, CA Farmer’s Market has an abundance of healthy food to offer from different farms & vendors.

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All Photo Credits: Carly (author)

While navigating through farmer’s market, you’ll see that some vendors grow organically.

When asking Lori Asdoorian, one of the owners of Island Farms organic fruit, what the benefits of buying organic produce is, she said, “Organic doesn’t mean more nutritious, it means less pesticides.” She said, it’s the “lack of what’s on it” that separates organic farming from other farming methods and makes organic a more pure way to eat fruits and vegetables.

See Canyon Fruit Ranch is a highly acclaimed farm in the San Luis Obispo area that specializes in apples. It is located off See Canyon Road in Avila Beach, CA.

The famous See Canyon Apples. Farm located in Avila Beach, CA.(Photo Credit: Carly)

Mike Cirone, one of the family owners of See Canyon Apples, informed me about the family-operated See Canyon Fruit Ranch. The ranch has 60 variations of apples that are dry-farmed, meaning the farm is non-irrigated and watered by rain only. Apples are in their high picking season during the fall, now through Thanksgiving. Cirone said that most people think See Canyon Apples are the “best apples they have ever had.” He believes this to be true because, the farmers of See Canyon Fruit Ranch “pick & sell,” so the apples are always freshly picked for the consumer.

Not only is there a colorful array of fruits & vegetables at farmer’s markets, but there are also other healthy snacks to find such as dates, dried fruits & nuts.

An assortment of nuts and dried fruits at the SLO Farmer’s Market(Photo Credit: Carly)

Sunrise Desert & Tropical is a unique vendor who sells dates at the San Luis Obispo Farmer’s market. These dates have a carmel-flavor that can satisfy a big sweet tooth. Dates have a multitude of uses: You can stuff them with walnuts or your favorite kind of nut as a satisfying protein snack, they are found in many granola bars and are often used as a binding ingredient in desserts, and they are also delicious in smoothies.

Gary Billington, a vendor for Sunrise Desert & Tropical, educated me about the many health benefits of dates. Dates are one of the highest sources of potassium in the diet and they contain trace elements & electrolytes. These nutrients make it possible for a person to survive off of a diet of solely dates and milk. He informed me that dates are an old world food, originating in the Middle East from Morocco to Pakistan, and people in the desert used to sustain themselves on this diet.

There are many interesting findings at the farmer’s market that you may have never even seen before. (Hover over the picture or click to find out what these crazy-looking things are.)

Citron: Has a potent, fresh lemony scent. Used to flavor vodka

Salad Sprouts from Mt. Olive: Add a little crunch to any salad to make it more interesting

Heart-shaped fruit called Cherimoya: Resembles a banana in it’s flavor

There are many things to discover at your local farmer’s market, and it’s a fun experience to walk around and explore all the different farms & vendors.

Abundant Food for an Abundant Lifeis inspired by utilizing our plentiful supply of fresh foods as nourishment for the body through clean eating: Farmer’s market is where an abundance of these fresh foods are found.